Breakup and Discovery
by FangZeronos
Summary: Suki finds what she didn't realize she was looking for after a letter from Sokka breaks her heart...
1. Chapter 1

Standing on her balcony as she wiped the make up of the Kyoshi Warriors off of her face, Suki sighed as she looked over the courtyard, children playing a game of ball, people walking in and out of the Palace. She kept looking for one familiar face, but she never saw him. She looked over the sea of red shades, looking for a lone blue, but she never found the person she thought she loved.

"Sokka..." Suki sighed, shaking her head as she pulled her headband off, letting it fall onto the table inside the door. "Why won't you come?" She looked over as a knock on the main door of her bedroom rapped out into the early evening, and she sighed. "Enter."

Walking in, one of her other Warriors came in with an envelope. "This just arrived for you by Messanger, Captain," she said. She held out the envelope and smiled grimly.

"Thank you, Phuong," Suki said. "Who's on guard duty tonight outside of the Fire Lord's chamber?"

"Han Li and Jin. I'm taking over at first light," Phuong said, bowing her head.

"Then get some sleep," Suki said, smiling softly before turning away, dismissing Phuong and getting the room back to herself. She sat down on the bed and drew her knees up under her, turning the envelope over and biting her lip. "It's from Sokka..."

She broke the seal on the back, taking out the letter inside. It felt thicker then most other paper she'd ever felt. Unfolding it, she started to read.

_Suki,_

_I know I haven't come to see you in the four months since you left out from here after your small vacation. And I'm sorry about that. I've been busy, and trying to come to grips with something I'd been toying with since you left._

_Suki, I don't think this is working out anymore. You're in the Fire Nation and basically Zuko's right hand woman, the person he trusts more then Iroh, and I'm working on helping start Republic City, dealing with the pressures here. We're never together, I can't drop everything at a moment's notice to come running if you want me there, just like you can't. We've both got obligations that we need to focus on, and I think it's best if we stop._

_You're probably looking at the last paragraph and getting angry, and you'd have a right to do so. I wanted to do this in person, but I couldn't find the right words. I'm sorry it has to end, Suki. You're the best girl I've ever known, but our jobs and our distance apart isn't going to let us do this anymore._

_Sokka_

Suki's heart sank. She clenched her hands, anger in her eyes. She knew it might happen, but she had hoped Sokka had the balls to tell her in person. She looked to her desk, sighing as she noticed the stack of unfinished letters to Sokka stating the same thing. Shaking her head, she sat down at the desk and threw the unfinished letters onto the floor before taking her last peice of parchment and flattening it out, biting the inside of her lip slightly.

_Sokka_

_I can't say I was surprised by your letter and what you said. Spirits, I've started over a dozen of the same ones. I thought we'd be able to make this long distance thing work, but like you said, we're both busy. In all honesty, I think I've known this was coming for a long time, especially after the night we shared in Ba Sing Se._

_To be entirely honest, I've started finding myself falling for someone else, and my heart has been torn in trying to make heads and tails of this situation. You'll always be the first person I've loved, Sokka, even if things didn't work out. I know you, and I know you won't stay single for long. Just promise to take care of yourself in the meantime._

_Goodbye, Sokka._

_Suki_

She nodded lightly as she read the letter over again, sealing it an envelope and addressing it for Sokka before she put a seal over it. She walked into the hallway, spotting Phuong. Suki motioned her friend over, smiling grimly.

"Captain?" Phuong asked.

"Can you make sure this gets to Republic City? It's urgent, and...it's in response to the letter from Sokka," Suki said, being blunt.

"Of course," Phuong said. "I'll make sure it meets the letter caravan myself."

"Thank you," Suki said, walking back into her room and closing the door. She undid her Warriors robes, hanging them beside the bed before pulling on a silken nightgown, a gift from the Fire Lord on her birthday. She sat back on her bed once again, looking out at the balcony, hearing the last sounds of the day fading away into the distance. A knock on the door broke her out of her thoughts, and she sighed. "Enter."

As the door opened, Suki stood up. "Suki, you don't have to be so strick and at attention every time I walk into a room," Zuko said as he closed the door. "Relax. You're off the clock, and so am I."

Suki nodded, sighing as she sank back onto the bed. "Zuko...I don't mean to offend you, but right now I'd like to just be left alone," she said, turning away and looking down.

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked, noting a change in Suki's usually upbeat demeanor. "You're never wanting to just be left alone, Suki. What happened?"

Cursing in an old Earth Kingdom way, Suki sighed. "I finally got a letter from Sokka today."

"Yeah?" Zuko asked, having a good idea where this was going, since Mai left him a note in the same way about her and Ty Lee.

"He broke up with me," Suki flatly said, her voice emotionless despite the tears in her eyes. "Not like I didn't see it coming, but the asshole could have at least had the decency to say it to my face instead of on a peice of paper."

Zuko nodded, giving Suki's arm a squeeze as he sat down beside her on the bed. "Suki, it'll be ok. Everyone goes through this. At least you didn't have happen to you what Sokka's first girlfriend did."

"Yue, I know," Suki sighed. "I just...wanted it to last, Zuko."

"I know, Suki," Zuko said. "I know."

The two sat in silence for a while, and Zuko looked out as the last lights of dusk faded and gave way to the stars and moon, hearing Suki sniffle every few minutes. "Come on," the Fire Lord said, giving Suki's hand a squeeze. "Get dressed, and meet me down by the stables in half an hour. I want to show you something."

Suki cocked an eyebrow and nodded, watching Zuko leave. "What could he want to show me?" she asked, her voice low.


	2. Chapter 2

Suki dressed again, this time clad in clothes similar to what she wore when she travelled with Aang and the rest of the gang a few years before. She pulled her hair up again and headed out of the room, waving slightly to her Warriors as she passed them.

"Captain!" Jin yelled, running up to Suki and panting as she hit her knees on the floor. "Captain...problem..."

"Calm down, Jin," Suki said, kneeling down. "What's the problem?"

"Fire Lord's gone..."

"No, he isn't," Suki said. "He asked me to meet him down by the stables. He knows what he's doing, Jin. Thank you for being so quick to find me to tell me, though. Get yourself some water, and breathe. You know what happened last time you didn't."

Jin nodded, panting and holding her chest. "Yes, Captain...oh, Spirits..." she mumbled, getting up and feeling Phuong help get her to the kitchen, leaving Suki with a bemused smile on her face.

"That girl," she chuckled, walking away and heading out of the Palace. She headed towards the stables, her mind buzzing with _why_ Zuko wanted her. "Maybe..." She shook her head, pushing that thought to the back of her mind. "No."

As she approached, she smiled at the Fire Lord, a smile he warmly returned. "I thought we could take a bit of a walk," he said. He led out two of the horses that pulled the Royal Family during celebrations. "And in style."

"These are the Pullers," Suki said, her eyes wide as she approached one. "Zuko, they're beautiful." She put her hand out and rubbed one's snout, smiling when it nudged her palm. She climbed on with Zuko's help, noticing his hand cupping her butt as he helped her up. "Get a good feel?"

"Sorry," Zuko said with a smile. The glint in his eyes was anything but apologetic, however. He mounted his own horse, nudging it forward before hearing Suki follow him, watching her match his pace.

"Where are we going, Zuko?" Suki asked.

"A place I like to visit after heartbreak," the Fire Lord said, smiling softly. "It's a lake, about two miles away. People call it the Reflecting Pool now, but in Sozin's day it was the Lake of Lovers."

"Interesting name, and a _great_ place to take your Captain of the Guard after your friend dumped her, Zuko," Suki said, venom dripping off of her voice. She saw Zuko visibly flinch back, and she put a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Sorry," Zuko said. "I didn't mean it to sound like it did." He sighed, looking down. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"No," Suki sighed, looking away. "I'm just in a bad mood, Zuko. You didn't do anything. I'm mad at Sokka, and I shouldn't be. I'm mad at myself, too. I started dozens of those break up letters. I never had the heart to finish them..."

"At least yours was a letter," Zuko said. "And not what I walked in on in Mai's chambers when I went to get her for a ball one night."

"Talking about the night her and Ty Lee were-"

"Yes," Zuko said, shuddering a bit. "I thought it was almost impossible to make me shiver, but it did."

"Honestly, it isn't that bad," Suki said. "You just have to find the technique that works for you." She shrugged and took pride in Zuko's second shudder. "I'd apologize, but it was the best I had before Sokka. Now that was a tongue on that girl. Spirits, she was-."

"Ok, ok, enough!" Zuko said, shaking his head. "I don't need to hear about it."

Suki grinned, following Zuko again until the lake came into view. The moon reflected down on the water, lighting up a good portion of the area. She stopped her horse and dismounted, seeing a blanket set up with a basket. "Planning a picnic?"

"IF you want it," Zuko said, taking the horses and tying them to a fallen tree. "I had a few of the servants bring this out while I was prepping the horses."

Suki just smiled again, taking a seat at the edge of the lake. She dipped her fingers into the water, swirling the water lightly. "Thank you, Zuko," she said.

"For what?" the Fire Lord asked, looking over at his brunette friend.

"For getting me out of the Palace so I wasn't occupied with the letter from Sokka," Suki said, smiling a bit before opening the basket. "It's a nice distraction. Too bad the letter didn't come to me tomorrow morning, then I could have distracted myself by knocking some of your Council out."

"Like Ozaru?" Zuko asked, chuckling. "He gets on your nerves, doesn't he?"

"In the worst possible way!" Suki laughed, shaking her head before tossing Zuko an apple. "He's so high and mighty. "Why do you let the little girl sit in the council?" He said that one morning before you got there, and my fan my have _accidentally _slipped out of my hand and past his head, embedding into the wall..."

"Yeah, I was going to ask about the mark," Zuko laughed, shaking his head. "Well, after the end of the month, he won't be on the council. He's retiring, and moving to warden Boiling Rock."

"Ack!" Suki shuddered. "Don't remind me of that place. I hate it!"

The two sat on the blanket for the rest of the night, watching the moon rise to her full height in the sky, laughing about various journeys they'd made in their travels, people they'd met, friends made and lost. Still, they found each others company enjoyable. Soon enough Suki found herself falling asleep, her head lolling to the side and landing on Zuko's shoulder, her blue eyes closing. Zuko smiled down at the Earth Kingdom woman, slowly positioning her so she was laying down. He sat beside her, watching her sleep for a while before his own eyes closed, finding himself falling asleep beside her, content for the first time.

As the morning sun rose, Suki stirred, feeling a body behind her. She sighed lightly, shielding her eyes from the sunlight. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, glancing beside her. Zuko was still asleep, his hair all over the place. She smiled softly, the long night of talking coming back to her. She nudged Zuko lightly, shaking his shoulder.

"Zuko...wake up," she yawned, blinking and rubbing her eyes again. She knelt beside the lake and got some water on her fingers, rubbing her eyes a third time to wash the remains of sleep away. "Zuko."

"Mm'up," Zuko muttered, sitting up and yawning. "Oh, yeah. We're still at the lake." His eyes flashed open, and he bolted upright. "We're still at the lake!"

"Duh?" SUki asked, cocking her eyebrow. "What was your first clue?"

"Bug bites," Zuko admitted, shaking his head. "No, the fact that you're the captain of the guard and I'm the Fire Lord. People are going to be looking for us."

Suki's eyes got wide as she remembered what was going on that morning. "Oh, Spirits!" she yelped. "And you've got that meeting with the Southern Traders about the shipments of fish from the Isles in an hour."

"We need to hurry and get back," Zuko said, grabbing the blanket and basket. He hooked it to his horse and untied them, helping Suki back up. "Come on."

The two urged the horses forward at a faster pace then the night before, stirring up dust as they ran. Soon they arrived back, Zuko jumping down and quickly ushering orders, taking SUki's hand and leading her through some secret tunnels through the Palace to his room.

"Zuko!" Suki finally said, shaking her hand out of his. SHe didn't mind the contact, but she needed her robes and weapons-which were in her room. "As much as I want to see you naked, I need my own robes and weapons."

Zuko nodded, but then Suki's words registered. "What?"

"I said, I need my own weap-oh, Spirits," Suki said, her face turning a very dark red as her ears caught up to her words. "I did not mean to say that. Oh, I feel stupid..." She turned and ran out of the room, knocking past Phuong and Jin, rushing to her own and closing the door, her mind replaying the words she'd uttered. "Oh, I feel like an idiot!" She hung her head, sinking onto her bed.

Suki avoided the conversation of what she'd said with Zuko the rest of the day, keeping to herself and only saying "Yes" and "No" when she was asked a question while keeping herself professional, though her words were still ringing in her mind. She finally sank down into her bed at the end of another long day of meetings and running around the Palace, keeping a close watch on Zuko.

"Stupid stupid stupid," she mumbled, shaking her head. She sighed and laid back, her head hitting the pillow. Unfortunately for Suki, her dreams that night were filled to bursting of Zuko.

The next morning, she ordered Phuong to take her place at Zuko's side for a few days, filling her in on what she needed to know, how to speak, how to answer questions. She hid herself away for several days, her mind buzzing. Finally, a knock on the door broke her out of her silence and solitary soul searching.

"Enter," she said, looking down at her papers, her pen scratching across the page.

"You're avoiding me," Zuko's voice said. A scratch was heard, followed by a string of curses-some even Zuko did not know-as Suki hit her table.

"Got to redo that entire thing," she snarled, getting up. "What do you want, Zuko? I really don't want to talk right now."

"It's been six days, Suko. You've had Phuong filling in, being my shadow. She said you were exhausted, and I can see what she means, but...why?"

"Because I keep replaying the words I said that morning when we came back from the lake over and over in my head, and I keep kicking myself in the ass for saying them," Suki admitted, shaking her head. "You don't get it, Zuko. You can just move to the next woman you want. I can't. Not if I didn't want a scandal and rumors going around."

"Why would rumors float?" Zuko asked.

"Because the person I want is standing in front of me, and he's in a position of power, I'm just a peasant girl from the Earth Kingdom, plus I'm your Captain of the Guard, and the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. Not to mention that if you and I tried anything, we'd never get a moment's peace," Suki rambled.

Zuko nodded, looking at Suki as he stepped closer. "What if...I don't care what people think?" he asked. "What if I don't care about consequences? Rumors? I'm the Fire Lord. I can tell people to jump and they will. Why does it matter?"

"It matters because-" Suki started, sighing. She shook her head, looking down. "Screw it." She leapt, grabbing Zuko's neck and kissing him, her arms locked around behind his neck, her hands tangled in his hair. She squeaked when he pulled her against him, hearing her heart thundering in her chest. She gasped as she broke away from him, hope in her eyes.

"Don't care anymore, do you?" he asked, a playful smile on his face.

"Not a damned bit," Suki whispered, kissing him again and pulling him tighter, pushing him down on her bed before she straddled his waist, grinning down at him. "Get ready to enjoy a show, my lord."

"I look forward to it," Zuko smirked.

* * *

Several years passed, the two taking the relationship slow in the public eye. It was announced that Suki would marry the Fire Lord, and word spread to every corner of the world. Suki was amazed when Toph and Katara showed up, the Water Tribe woman visibly pregnant, Aang and-to her surprise-Sokka in tow, both men carrying several bags.

"Katara, you excuse me for a minute?" Suki asked, ducking away from Katara and Toph without waiting for an answer. She walked over to Sokka and smiled softly. "Sokka?"

"Hi, Suki," Sokka said, setting the bags he was carrying down. "Toph wouldn't let me stay home."

"Good," Suki said, hugging him tightly. "I'm glad you're here."

"So am I," Sokka said, hugging Suki back. "I'm sorry I put that in a letter...I wanted to tell you in person so many times."

"It's alright," Suki whispered. She looked up at Sokka and smiled softly. "You're still my friend, Sokka. I'm not angry. I wanted to be, but I couldn't do it. I'd written a dozen of those same ones, but I never had the courage to send it. We're still friends, and you're here. That's what matters to me."

Sokka nodded, getting ready to say something before seeing Zuko walk up. "Zuko," he said.

"Sokka," Zuko said, shaking his friends hand.

"Hurt Suki, and I'll break your neck," Sokka said. "You understand me?"

Zuko smiled and nodded. "I understand, Sokka. She's in good hands. Besides, she can hold her own."

"That's a fact," Sokka laughed, smiling softly.

Suki smiled, watching her fiancee and ex-boyfriend interact. They were like brothers, and for Suki, her breakup with Sokka was the key to a discovery, one she was glad she searched for.


End file.
